The Rest of February

February was as always, a wet and cold respite. It's hard for me to put into words just how much I love the months of January and February. All is still and quiet and waiting. I adore the peacefulness of the calendar. It is an introvert's dream to not have so many social engagements, no bright sunshine drawing people out of their houses. There is the hope of Spring on the horizon, the watching for early signs of the end of Winter, but it is slow, still, peaceful. The rain hasn't yet become tiresome, the dreary days are comforted by a crackling fire in the woodstove.

And yet... since I started traveling for work, February is also the month of last-minute, of hurry-up-and-finish, of have-I-remembered-everything? Prepping for the Needlework Wholesale Market in Nashville is both fun and challenging. Every year is different. What will people love? What will they pass over in favor of another design? I don't worry about it too much, because the designs I create are purely from inspiration and intuition, with very little thought for trends or past successes. If I don't feel the design in my bones, if it doesn't get me excited in some way, then it gets trashed.

So my February was a strange juxtaposition of busy and still. And it was all good in the end.

Coffee Quaker Update

Hi everyone... I have been getting a LOT of questions about this design. I'm getting a little worried that I might not have enough copies made up for Nashville, but it's too late to make any more. So I wanted to post a note here to let you know to have your favorite LNS get their pre-order in. If I run out of charts at the show, there will be a bit of a delay afterward before I can send out more. I will have every copy I've made with me, but if I sell more than I take, it will be at least a week from the show before I'll be able to get more shipped out.

Also, I forgot to include some of the pertinent information with my last post, but I've updated it to show stitch count and threads. Scroll down to find that info.

Okay... now back to my previously scheduled folding, stuffing and boxing activities.

Nashville Needlework Market 2017 Official Release Announcement

I will have five brand new designs available to wholesale shoppers who attend the Nashville Needlework Market the first weekend in March. Three of those designs will be exclusively available to attendees (but will be released to the general population one month after the show). Be sure to contact your favorite needlework shop owner and put in requests for any of these designs that you need to get your hands on right away!

Show attendees: I will gladly take pre-orders to have ready for you to pick up on Friday.




*Nashville Exclusive*
P is for Pomegranate: The Alphabet Series #4
Retail Price: $10

Model stitched with one thread over two
on Dames of the Needle 32 count Dirty Ewe
Using threads from The Gentle Art and Weeks Dye Works

Frame by Signed and Numbered:
6x6 Circle Opening Super Vintage Wood Tone

*Nashville Exclusive*
Let it Begin With Me
Retail Price: $10

Model stitched with one thread over two
on R&R Reproductions' 32 count Stars Hollow Blend
Threads: The Gentle Art, Classic Colorworks, & Weeks Dye Works

Hornbook by Perfect Prim Punch: Hornbook #39, 5.5 x 6.5 unfinished
(tutorial available on request).

*Nashville Exclusive*
Coffee Quaker: The Magical Elixir Series, Part II
Retail Price: $10

Stitch Count: 195 x 170

Model stitched with one thread over two on R&R Reproductions’ 40ct. Stars Hollow Blend

Weeks Dye Works: Palomino, Grasshopper

The Gentle Art: Maple Syrup, Dark Chocolate, Apple Cider, Picnic Basket, Caramel Corn, Ruby Slipper

Classic Colorworks: Hazelnut

Frame by Total Framing (details to follow at a later date)

The Redheaded Dog Sampler (a Faithfully Reproduced Antique Sampler)
Includes charts for the reproduction sampler along with three small projects designed by me, inspired by and in tribute to the original.

Retail Price: $14

Model stitched with one thread over two
on Zweigart 40 count Newcastle Cream
which I coffee stained after stitching.

Using DMC threads
Antique sampler shown in cover photo; model picture available on request, but at a later date (I forgot to do its photo shoot before mailing it to my Nashville suite! Oops.)

The Bird Collection, Part IV: American Robin, Song Sparrow, Tree Swallow
Retail Price: $12

Model stitched with one thread over two
on Picture This Plus 32 count Wren
Using threads from The Gentle Art and Weeks Dye Works

Frames were thrifted then refinished by me (tutorial available on request).

The Redheaded Dog and The Bird Collection are NOT exclusive to the Nashville show, and will be released in my etsy shop as soon as I get home from Nashville, as well as being available from my distributors.

Market Preview: Sneak Peeks!!!

You guys! I've been SO hard at work getting new pretties ready to release in Nashville next month. Next month! Its really, really hard to believe that my big, most anticipated trip of the year is right around the corner again.

I still feel like a total newbie in the industry, having only been designing for 9 years, and this being just my third time attending the show. But as each year passes, it is feeling more and more like a home away from home. If you ever get a chance to attend as a helper or a shop owner or even as a fly on the wall, you need to; its like Disneyland for stitchers.

I've got four new designs for sure, and I'm working as hard as I can to get the fifth done in time. Wish me luck? First up, I'm offering the following three designs as exclusives; this means that they will only be offered for sale for the first month to those that buy them directly from me at the Nashville show. They won't be available to anyone else until one month after the show ends. So if you can't wait to get your hands on them, let your local needlework shop owner know so they can pick a copy up for you at the show. They are, in no particular order:

P is for Pomegranate: The Alphabet Series #4
Retail Price: $10

Model stitched with one thread over two
on Dames of the Needle 32 count Dirty Ewe
Using threads from The Gentle Art and Weeks Dye Works

Frame by Signed and Numbered:
6x6 Circle Opening Super Vintage Wood Tone

Let it Begin With Me
Retail Price: $10

Model stitched with one thread over two
on R&R Reproductions' 32 count Stars Hollow Blend
Threads: The Gentle Art, Classic Colorworks, & Weeks Dye Works

Hornbook by Perfect Prim Punch: Hornbook #39, 5.5 x 6.5 unfinished
(pdf tutorial will be made available for finishing at home)

Coffee Quaker: The Magical Elixir Series, Part II
Retail Price: $10

Model stitched with one thread over two on R&R Reproductions' 40 count Stars Hollow Blend
Threads: The Gentle Art, Classic Colorworks, and Weeks Dye Works

Frame by Total Framing (details to follow at a later date)

If I can get it finished in time, I'll be releasing The Bird Collection, Part IV, but its a little touch-and-go at this point. I'm stitching and designing as fast as I can. If I don't finish it in time for the show, it will be out shortly thereafter. All I can tell you for sure is that it includes an American Robin. Yay! There will be 3 birds like in the other installments of the collection, and all stitched on Picture This Plus' 32 count Wren.

The other immediate release will be an antique reproduction, which I've enhanced by adding a few smalls that were inspired by the antique:

The Redheaded Dog Sampler (a Faithfully Reproduced Antique Sampler)
Retail Price: $14

Model stitched with one thread over two
on Zweigart 40 count Newcastle Cream
which I coffee stained after stitching.

Threads: DMC

Frame by Total Framing (details to follow at a later date)